Alabama studies up on national championships and 'Big Lebowski'

Outside Looking In: What people outside the state are saying about Alabama:

Jeff Bridges as "The Dude"

"Alabama is cancelling (sic) classes for three days so students can attend the national title game. You think that's bad, (sic) any student who holds up a sign reading 'ABC -- Another 'Bama Celebration' -- gets credit in American Literature," says Brad Dickson in The Omaha World-Herald.

Perhaps Dickson should try auditing classes at Birmingham-Southern College. That school's associate professor Fred Ashe contributes to a scholarly look at the cult film "The Big Lebowski."

Ashe "profitably compares the Dude to Rip van Winkle, for both his 'friendly charisma' and what Washington Irving described as Rip's 'insuperable aversion to all kinds of profitable labor,'" The New York Times notes.